Only You
by Jeanway
Summary: My first fanfic. A JC version of the series finale.
1. Chapter 1

**Only Time**

_Synopsis: As in Endgame, Janeway goes back in time to bring Voyager back earlier. Why? In my version, Chakotay dies before they get back (early on, but after Renaissance Man), Harry and Seven also die, Tuvok's disease, cure in the Alpha Quadrant. I will of course only be focussing on the big J/C moment as this is all a set up for it!_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to paramount, ending is inspired by the original "Resolutions" script._

Chakotay turned his head when he heard his door chime.

"Come."

There she stood, eyes gleaming, which quickly turned into a shining smile. He hadn't seen her smile like that in almost 7 years now. Was it really_ her_?

"What can I do for you, Admiral?" he said, half shocked to see her.

"Inviting me in would be nice," she answered with a half smile.

"Of course, please sit down ...coffee?"

"No, thank you. I gave that up years ago." He had once told her that she drank too much of it. She had decided to stop drinking it after his death. Looking at him Janeway wondered if she should have come at all. The captain of this ship would definitely not approve. She looked away from him. She was not the captain anymore.

"Forgive me, Admiral, but..."

"Kathryn." She didn't want to be 'Admiral' to him either.

"...Kathryn..."

She hesitated for a split second before throwing caution to the wind. After all, she had already thrown the temporal prime directive out the airlock just by being there –

"I missed you so much Chakotay! I had to see you," blurted Janeway. "Forgive _me_. There was so much I wanted – should – have told you!"

This was not the Janeway he knew. She had changed. Different but still as beautiful as ever... and she was no longer his captain. – But wait... She missed him!

"What happened? How did we lose touch?"

"I've said too much already – Chakotay, do you know how vital you are to this crew? You keep us together, you unite Maquis and Starfleet. You helped both the captain and Voyager." She didn't care if she couldn't keep her tenses straight anymore. "Thank you Chakotay. You were my rock, my all... I love you – I've always loved you."

He had waited so long to hear those words from her. His own eyes were now gleaming. She was the love of his life but she was his captain. Even on New Earth she had kept a distance between them; even when she knew that Mark had moved on they had remained "just friends". Fiancés, protocol, the crew. The desk they were sitting at. There was always something to keep them apart.

And now this Kathryn. She was the Kathryn he had always loved. Yet she was a Kathryn out of time. Now that he knew how she felt, it seemed as though only time separated him from _his_ Kathryn.

Kathryn didn't need an answer. She could see it in his face; she could always see it in his face.

Without a word he slowly offered her his right hand. Their hands joined as they did on New Earth, as if they were back in that moment -- a time without rank or protocol...

"Do you remember the ancient legend I told you?"

Janeway nodded. She looked at him just as she did on New Earth after he had told her his story.

"I never finished the story..." he said. He stood up and turned to face the window. Watching the stars fly by he said, "the angry warrior didn't realize for a long time that what he was feeling was love – because he had never known love before... and he could never tell her until today."

Then Chakotay turned to look straight at her. "I've loved you all along, Kathryn," he whispered, "I still do."

Janeway could not help but let fall her tears at those words, although she had known it all along. She rose, moved to him, and reached out to caress his cheek – the face of the man that had been her support when she needed it most. Gradually she tilted her head up and kissed him on the cheek.

Chakotay put his arms around her, gathering her in. Kathryn was home at last.


	2. Chapter 2

**Only Space**

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to paramount. Part 2 of Only time. POVs of Chakotay and Janeway._

The next morning Chakotay could not keep his handsome smile off his face. She _loves_ him. She _loved_ him. Last night had been the best night of his life. She had asked him to "dance with an old friend". It was the last dance she would ever have with him. Bitter sweet. Especially for her. She acted as though she would never see him again. He would, of course, see her (former self) on the bridge the next day – the Kathryn that kept parameters, that followed protocol. She had to. They both knew that. Yet if she felt the same way he did, would they not have at least stayed friends or maybe even gotten closer once they had gotten home? How could they have drifted apart? Would their friendship have survived if one of them had moved on? Had the future Kathryn gotten back together with Mark? Had he finally stopped waiting for her and found someone new? Now that he knew how she felt, he would not allow the latter to happen.

As he stepped onto the bridge he realized that he could no longer look at the captain without smiling. It was only the back of her head! Nevertheless, it reminded him of last night's perfect moment in time... This was completely inappropriate. He could not let her see him like this: she would ask too many questions; things would get uncomfortable. And that would be the last thing he wanted. After all, her present self hadn't told him those words last night. He could hide his emotions and he decided that he would, with all his strength.

* * *

Captain Kathryn Janeway noticed a gleam in her first officer's eye the moment he sat down.

"Good morning, Commander."

"Captain."

Now she knew something was up – he didn't even glance at her – he had _purposely_ not looked at her. She suppressed a sigh: things had not been going her way since Admiral Janeway came aboard. She hated to admit it, but part of her annoyance was probably the fact that she was no longer the person with the most control on the ship anymore. The other part was _positively_ the fact that she couldn't believe that she would one day become this future version of herself. What could have possibly pushed her to break the temporal prime directive? What fatal mistake had she made that was worth all of this? Not to mention that her future self was stubborn and domineering, in addition to many other annoying characteristics that she hoped her present self didn't possess.

And now, Commander Chakotay was the last straw. What the hell had she told him? She had no right to interfere! The captain had everything under control.

"I'll be in my ready room... looking over Admiral Janeway's plan."

Looking slightly irritated, but not too much more than usual, the captain left the bridge.

* * *

The plan, as Chakotay knew it, other than the technology involved, wasn't at all complicated. Admiral Janeway had told them that the information gathered from Voyager, after they had finally gotten home, about artificial wormholes, space corridors, and slip stream technology, had aided scientists back on Earth to equip space-faring ships with the ability to create an "Alpha Link", a sort of nexus between one end of the galaxy to the other. This was, of course, with the help of Voyager's crew and captain. The technology could only be used in emergencies as it would drain most of the ship's energy. However, it insured that no further ships would be stuck in the Delta Quadrant, away from their homes, alone to fend for themselves.

B'Elanna and her efficient engineering team were fitting the technology from the admiral's ship to Voyager. Admiral Janeway had everything worked out and was supervising and directing the engineering crew with B'Elanna. They would make the jump as soon as they had completed the modifications.

Chakotay wondered if the captain was feeling out of place. Admiral Janeway had taken over since she came on board. The admiral had been with the crew longer; she knew them more intimately. And she could get them home sooner. The crew was still loyal to the captain, but it wasn't as though the captain would refuse a faster way of getting home to save several lives of her crew. Particularly since the technology was created from Voyager's own crew and experiences. Chakotay sighed. In spite of what Admiral Janeway had told him, he knew that Captain Janeway needed him at this moment as a friend. Especially now as the crew grew closer to Admiral Janeway who, despite the distance of time, was closer to them than Captain Janeway ever was.

* * *

She barely heard the door chime.

"Come." Standing by her couch, facing the window, the captain looked light-years away.

"Chakotay... do you think I've distanced myself too much from the crew?"

"Your position requires that you do. And you're also in a very unique situation."

"Admiral Janeway seems to balance it well. She had more time to spend with the crew in the Delta Quadrant."

"She's not the captain either."

"She was at one time. Chakotay, when you were captain, did you keep this much of a buffer between you and your crew?"

He paused. "No, I didn't. But I learned my lesson."

"I think I've learned the other side of that lesson: the crew has grown closer without me. I knew there were sacrifices to be made but maybe I didn't know where to draw the line, where to stop."

Chakotay thought that perhaps she had drawn too many lines in her life, too many parameters, too many borders. It was true that she didn't know when to stop.

"...and soon, when the crew gets home, I will no longer be their captain. What will I be to them then?"

"Kathryn, you will always be their captain. You will always have their respect and loyalty."

She looked down. "And you Chakotay, will I always be your captain?"

Chakotay moved to stand right behind her.

"I would hope that you would always be my friend," he said softly.

Janeway smiled at this. She turned to face him, then blushed and looked away. "Chakotay, you were never just a friend." Then she looked straight at him. "You were so much more."

They gazed deeply into each others eyes, the space between them diminishing...

"Kim to captain. We're ready to form the Link," the ensign announced.

The captain smiled and closed her eyes, exasperated and somewhat embarrassed. There were always interruptions.

"Good work. Proceed."

She paused before she turned to face her first officer anew.

"Are _we_ ready, Chakotay?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, definitely ready," he responded, all smiles again.

Just then Voyager jolted as if she had heard them. Janeway lost her balance and fell into Chakotay's strong arms. The only space left between them gone, they kissed as the bright and beautiful colours of the Alpha Link brought them closer to home.


End file.
